Little Brother
by full-of-wrackspurts
Summary: Oneshot where Ron considers his life with harry and their lives to come. Professor McGonagal cameo included. Set in sixth year. rated T for a tiny bit of swearing. Now EDITED.


A/N I do not own Harry Potter, it is owned by JK Rowling and Warner brothers and Albus Dumbledore because he's too powerful to not have a hand in the books and the films being released to us mere muggles. Not an update just an edit. I felt it needed a bit of tweaking.

Little Brother

He sees his best friend, no his little brother staring out over the Black Lake and can't think of a thing to do to help him.

Six years ago he met him on the Express excited to be escaping from his mother's clutches and excited to do something for himself. Yet fate had a different plan for him as the first person he met ended up being the most famous boy in the Wizarding World. He was awestruck by his luck and every so often he still is, once in a while he has to shake himself when he remembers that he's best friends with The Harry Potter. Him, the poor blood traitor and the forgettable sixth child of seven.

Harry doesn't realise this but being friends with Harry has made Ron feel important and it is the greatest gift that he could have been given. Sometimes he disappears into Harry's shadow but the fact he is there at all is a testament to Harry. The singular benefit of Harry growing up with the Dursley's is that he grew up learning not to judge. His perception is so what if the Weasleys are poor and blood traitors, they accepted me into their family and it's obvious that they love each other. If Harry had grown up in the pureblooded wizarding world they would not have been as close and they would have never been family.

Considering those first few years together after the madness of the next, they feel like fun, like child's play. Sure most people don't meet three headed dogs or fight giant chess sets but it certainly makes for interesting childhood memories. He fully admits that he has been an idiotic prat over some of that time and even if Harry's forgiven him, he can never forget the look on Harry's face when he turned his back on him. But even the fear he felt fighting a giant chess set and sneaking to the Shrieking Shack and the shame in remembering what he did are nothing compared to how he is feeling now. He would almost say that the giant spiders were easier. Almost.

Over the past 6 years he has watched Harry give up on his lifetime dream of finding a childhood. With every year the dream grew hazier and hazier until Sirius's death made him give up on it all together. At 15 he had given up on fun. When he first saw him after picking him up from the Dursley's he didn't recognise him. His eyes were red and covered in shadows, his clothes which hung off him normally just looked like a sack and everything about him screamed help me, bring him back. He wouldn't have been surprised to see scars on his wrists. He has no idea how Harry survived that summer and made it to the Burrow, far less to Hogwarts. He never believed that he would ever see Harry smile again so when it was Ginny that created that smile he didn't find it difficult to quash his brotherly protective instincts. He even told his older brothers to back off, that Ginny could protect herself and that Harry needed her more than she needed their protection. But since this is Harry Potter life can't be that easy. Harry was having fun and was smiling but the glimpse of happiness only lasted as long as they ignored Voldemort and with Dumbledore now giving Harry those lessons and giving him a way to kill Moldieshorts he had to sacrifice his and Ginny's happiness.

His best friend is grieving and shouting and screaming at the world to let him let go off this burden but his nobility and saving-people thing won't let him show it, not to mention the pressure from everywhere else. He wishes he could do it instead. He has experienced happiness, he has enough memories to help him through this. But deep down he knows he can't not only is he not brave enough, Harry would kill him for even thinking of taking his place.

Ron was interrupted from his musings when he felt an arm wrap around his.

"You should go to him, he needs someone to remind him we're here and there's still fun in the world even if it is all about to go to hell."

"I know Hermione."

From his post of observation he stood and approached his brother with a plan to do the only thing he could, let him have one more day of freedom and forgetting before they were forced to say goodbye to their sanctuary and prepare to enter a war.

"Hey mate, I know you might not be up for it, but do you fancy a game of Quidditch, last chance?"

He held out Harry's Firebolt and waited for some movement. When none came he joined Harry on the grass and proceeded to shock himself and Harry with his following words.

"I've known you since you were 11 years old, a tiny scrawny thing that barely reached my shoulders even then and I've been on so many adventures with you; I've flown in a car with you, I've fought giant spiders with you, I've sneaked into Hogsmeade with you and through it all, you have been so strong and so brave that you make me so proud to be your friend. I just want you to know that I consider you my brother and I will do everything I can to support you."

"You may not trust that you can fight him and win but you can and you will. All of your life you have been fighting him but I know this is going to end soon and you will get the life you deserve. Of course there's going to be a whole load of shit to get through first and as soon as we leave Hogwarts we're going to enter a world of hell but we have got this far and I am not going to give up yet."

"So I want one last game of Quidditch at Hogwarts where we can forget everything and for possibly the last hour of our lives, be children. Let's have a happy memory to leave on yeah?"

"You're going to have a hard time getting me to come down, I'm warning you now." Harry said quietly.

It wasn't a sign that Harry was getting better or that he was in anyway ready to face the next however long but knowing that there was still a part of Harry that was willing to accept fun and family into his life made him smile. So he pulled himself and Harry up from the ground, called out to Hermione and the three walked to the Quidditch pitch with the aim of wiping out the existence of Voldemort.

The two boys and a girl, nay the two young men and a woman stayed at the pitch for the next 4 hours, Hermione watching the two boys laughing and playing together. They played until long after the rest of Hogwarts had departed to common rooms and quarters but the teachers who saw these three did not have the heart to tell them to leave, to stop their fun and laughter especially as they could recognise the desperation behind their actions to hold on to their childhood.

When they finally returned to their rooms they ran into McGonagall who unbeknown to them had been waiting for them to return.

"You should have been in bed hours ago" she said sternly, the three in front of her shifting nervously "but since I believe this is your last ever night at Hogwarts I will let it pass."

"How did you know?" Harry asked.

"I know you. I wanted to take this opportunity before you leave to say how proud I am of all of you and to offer some advice. Harry, never believe that you aren't loved, there are so many people here who love you. Hermione, you are so much more than just brains and never let anyone treat you otherwise. Ron, you are your own person, never convince yourself that you are less than any of your family. Finally, for all of you, never let anything loosen your bonds of friendship and family. Now go and enjoy your last night as children. "

"Thanks professor" Ron said taking her words to heart and committing himself to his friends and family, thinking to himself "I'm never going to leave these two again. After all they're the best family a guy could have."

A/N So what do you think? Thank you for the amazing reviews and special thanks go to Mellonie Payne for her review.


End file.
